Home Office

Deportation: EEA Nationals

Lord McColl of Dulwich: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many EEA nationals with ongoing applications for discretionary leave to remain as victims of human trafficking have been issued with "minded to remove" letters or administrative removal papers since 1 January 2014.

Lord Bates: Since 01 January 2014, no EEA Nationals with ongoing applications for Discretionary Leave to Remain in the United Kingdom as victims of human trafficking have been served with ‘minded to remove’ letters or administrative removal papers whilst their applications were being considered.In the same time period,fewer than five applicants were served with papers before they made an application for Discretionary Leave to Remain.

Home Office: Interpreters

Baroness Coussins: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consultations they have held, if any, about the rates of pay of interpreters contracted to work for the Home Office Interpreter Operations Unit, and what the outcome of those consultations has been.

Lord Bates: In November 2015 the Interpreter Operations Unit wrote to all interpreters registered to work on behalf of the Home Office informing them of plans to change their rates of pay from January 2016. Some discussions were held with interpreter representatives in December 2015. All proposed changes are currently on hold pending a further internal review of existing pay and conditions. This review will take place in 2016/17.

Home Office: Interpreters

Baroness Coussins: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the announcement by the Home Office in January, whether a fundamental review of interpreter services has been commissioned, and if so, what are its terms of reference and timetable.

Lord Bates: An internal review of interpretation service provision is planned to commence during 2016/17. No specific actions have taken place thus far.

Immigration: Europe

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the EU, UN, and Interpol with regard to the pursuit of criminal gangs that exploit refugees and migrants in Europe.

Lord Bates: The Government takes a system-wide approach to tackling organised immigration crime and we are working with international partners to smash the criminal gangs that are fuelling this terrible trade in people. The UK has been at the forefront of calls in the EU for a robust approach to tackling organised immigration crime, including through Europol and encouraging all Member States to contribute intelligence to its Joint Operations Team Mare initiative.In June 2015 the Prime Minister announced the creation of the Organised Immigration Crime Taskforce bringing together officers from the National Crime Agency, Border Force, Immigration Enforcement and the Crown Prosecution Service to exploit every opportunity at source, in transit countries and in Europe to tackle organised crime groups criminal operations. The Taskforce funding was subsequently expanded in November 2015 to increase resources to 100 dedicated officers until 2020. The Taskforce is working with international partners actively sharing intelligence and progressing criminal investigations.

Human Trafficking

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people have been (1) charged with, and (2) convicted of, people smuggling offences in the UK in each of the past 10 years.

Lord Bates: Prior to March 2014, this information was not recorded centrally. The number of individuals charged and convicted for people smuggling for 2014/15 and 2016/15 (year to date YTD) is as follows:2014/15 (Apr to Mar) Charged - 207 Convicted – 1112015/16 (Apr – YTD) Charged - 210 Convicted – 128These figures recorded as the following primary offences: Human Smuggling – via Aeroplane, Human Smuggling – via Lorry, Human Smuggling – via Van/Car, Human Smuggling – via Vessel (boat/ferry etc) and Human Smuggling – Other.

Police and Crime Commissioners

Lord Wasserman: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many of the 41 persons presently employed to discharge the function of Chief Executive of the Office of Police and Crime Commissioner in police forces in England and Wales are (1) women, (2) members of the BME communities, (3) legally qualified, and (4) former police officers.

Lord Wasserman: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many staff, including part-time workers and workers under a contract for services, are presently employed in each of the 41 offices of the Police and Crime Commissioner in England and Wales, and how many full-time equivalent posts each office has.

Lord Bates: The Home Office does not hold this information.The Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) are statutorily required to recruit a Chief of Staff (Chief Executive) and a Chief Financial Officer. However, it is then for the PCC to determine what further staff they require to support them in their duties.Under paragraph 2 of Schedule 1 of the Elected Local Policing Bodies (Specified Information) Order 2011, PCCs are obliged to publish certain staffing information, including an organisational chart showing the structure of their office.This level of transparency enables the public to effectively hold them to account in a way that was not possible under the police authority governance model.The Home Office does not hold further information centrally.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

North Korea: Russia

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of the Russian Federation about the new extradition treaty signed between the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the Russian Federation on 2 February, and about the likely impact of the treaty’s provisions on the transfer and readmission of North Koreans who have fled their country and would be deemed to be illegally in another’s territory as a result of the treaty.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The Government has not made specific representations to the Government of the Russian Federation regarding this treaty.

North Korea: Russia

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the number of North Koreans who work in Russia as labourers or who have entered Russia to escape North Korean human rights violations; and of the potential contravention of Russia’s international obligations and violation of human rights should North Koreans be repatriated from Russia to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We estimate that there are approximately 20,000 - 35,000 workers from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) in the Russian Federation. We do not hold detailed information on the number of DPRK refugees currently in the Russian Federation.

Nigeria: Boko Haram

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the Nigerian authorities about any action being taken to support the integration of traumatised women and girls who are freed from Boko Haram and face mistrust and suspicion when they return home.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We are pleased that a number of women and children have been rescued, and regularly stress to the Nigerian authorities the importance that they are provided with appropriate support to deal with the trauma they have faced, including to reintegrate into their communities. I personally raised the importance of challenging the social stigma faced by women and girls freed from Boko Haram with Nigerian ministers and military officials during my visit to Nigeria last month. Challenging negative attitudes on sexual violence is a key element of this.

South Sudan: Sanctions

Lord Chidgey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Baroness Verma on 29 February (HL Deb, cols 573–5), whether the UK Mission to the UN, following receipt of a UN Security Council briefing on the humanitarian situation in South Sudan, has called for the immediate imposition of an arms embargo; and if so, why such an embargo should not also be applied to Sudan.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The UK has made clear our strong support for a UN arms embargo in South Sudan. We welcome that the UN Security Council will return to this issue by 15 April and we will continue to make the case to other Council members in the interim. We fully support the existing UN arms embargo for Darfur and the EU arms embargo that applies to Sudan as a whole. We remain deeply concerned by the impact of the devastating conflicts in Sudan and will continue to press all sides to engage in the African Union-led peace talks.

Northern Ireland Office

Belfast Agreement

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Dunlop on 24 February (HL5812) concerning the Belfast Agreement 1998, why they did not answer the question and whether "equality between those islands" includes parity of esteem for all on those islands.

Lord Dunlop: I have previously responded to the Noble Lord’s question by explaining that paragraph three of the Declaration of Support in the Belfast Agreement commits the participants involved in the multi-party negotiations that led to the Agreement ‘to partnership, equality and mutual respect as the basis of relationships within Northern Ireland, between North and South, and between these islands’. I also explained that the United Kingdom Government is committed to affording due respect and parity of esteem to all the people in Northern Ireland as underpinned by the Agreement and in accordance with the obligations on the Government to promote equality and prevent discrimination across the United Kingdom. I have nothing to add to this.

Belfast Agreement

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Dunlop on 24 February (HL5739 and HL5740) concerning the Belfast Agreement 1998, why they did not answer the question about the agenda for discussion with the Republic of Ireland, and who checks that those involved in discussions are entitled to be involved.

Lord Dunlop: I have previously responded to the Noble Lord’s question by explaining that discussions with the Irish Government are in accordance with the established three-stranded approach to Northern Ireland affairs which is reflected in the Belfast Agreement. I have nothing to add to this.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Computer Software

Lord Wills: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have considered tackling in-built obsolescence in computer software, equivalent to legislation in France under decree 1482, and if not, why not.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: Decree 1482 concerns obsolescence in appliances rather than computer software. The Government is not specifically considering obsolescence in computer software but has protected consumers in a different way. Since October 2015 consumers have had new rights under the Consumer Rights Act in relation to digital content including software. Software must be of satisfactory quality which includes remaining functional for the period a consumer can reasonably expect.Decree 1482 does not cover internet search engines and the concept of in-built obsolescence in relation to internet search engines is unclear so the Government has no plans to address this issue.

Internet

Lord Wills: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have considered tackling in-built obsolescence in relation to internet search engines, equivalent to legislation in France under decree 1482, and if not, why not.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: Decree 1482 concerns obsolescence in appliances rather than computer software. The Government is not specifically considering obsolescence in computer software but has protected consumers in a different way. Since October 2015 consumers have had new rights under the Consumer Rights Act in relation to digital content including software. Software must be of satisfactory quality which includes remaining functional for the period a consumer can reasonably expect.Decree 1482 does not cover internet search engines and the concept of in-built obsolescence in relation to internet search engines is unclear so the Government has no plans to address this issue.

Computer Software

Lord Wills: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to implementing the EU Waste Electrical Equipment Directive (2012/19/EU) in relation to computer software.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: No consideration has been given as internet search engines are not within the defined scope of the Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment Directive. The scope of the WEEE Directive is restricted to equipment which is dependent on electric currents or electromagnetic fields in order to work properly or equipment for the generation, transfer and measurement of such currents and fields.

Internet

Lord Wills: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to implementing the EU Waste Electrical Equipment Directive (2012/19/EU) in relation to internet search engines.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: No consideration has been given as internet search engines are not within the defined scope of the Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment Directive. The scope of the WEEE Directive is restricted to equipment which is dependent on electric currents or electromagnetic fields in order to work properly or equipment for the generation, transfer and measurement of such currents and fields.

Tickets: Sales

Lord Pendry: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to address investigations by Which? and 5 Live that found that secondary ticket sites are carrying ticket listings that are in breach of the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: Trading Standards Services are responsible for enforcing the secondary ticketing provisions of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and other relevant consumer protection legislation. Suspected or actual breaches of such legislation should first be reported via the Citizens Advice consumer helpline, following which Citizens Advice may refer cases to Trading Standards Services for appropriate action. Since the ticketing provisions contained in the Consumer Rights Act 2015 came into force on 27 May 2015, an independent Review has been established (as required by the Act) to consider consumer protection measures in relation to online ticket re-sales. The Review is looking at the available evidence and will report by 26 May 2016.

Tickets: Sales

Lord Pendry: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to ensure that online secondary ticket companies are properly monitoring and countering potential ticket touting, in compliance with the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: Her Majesty’s Government issued guidance to business when the new ticketing provisions, contained in the Consumer Rights Act 2015, came into force. Trading Standards Services are responsible for enforcing the secondary ticketing provisions of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and other relevant consumer protection legislation. Suspected or actual breaches of such legislation should first be reported via the Citizens Advice consumer helpline, following which Citizens Advice may refer cases to Trading Standards Services for appropriate action. Since the ticketing provisions contained in the Consumer Rights Act 2015 came into force on 27 May 2015, an independent Review has been established (as required by the Act) to consider consumer protection measures in relation to online ticket re-sales. The Review is looking at the available evidence and will report by 26 May 2016.

Tickets: Sales

Lord Pendry: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that primary and secondary ticket companies that are based abroad comply with the Consumer Rights Act 2015 when selling tickets in the UK.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: When selling to UK customers, primary and secondary ticketing platforms, whether based in or outside the UK, are required to comply with the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (CRA) and mandatory UK consumer law protections. Her Majesty’s Government issued guidance to business when the new ticketing provisions, contained in the CRA, came into force. Trading Standards Services are responsible for enforcing the secondary ticketing provisions of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and other relevant consumer protection legislation. Suspected or actual breaches of such legislation should first be reported via the Citizens Advice consumer helpline, following which Citizens Advice may refer cases to Trading Standards Services for appropriate action.

Tickets: Sales

Lord Pendry: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many penalties have been issued to ticket sellers under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, and how many of those penalties were issued to secondary ticket sellers.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The provisions of Part 3, Chapter 5 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (CRA) concern the online secondary ticketing market. The duty in section 90 CRA to provide information about tickets applies to persons re-selling tickets and internet-based secondary ticketing facilities. Trading Standards is the enforcement authority in Great Britain for the purposes of the secondary ticketing provisions in the CRA. The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment is the relevant enforcement authority for Northern Ireland. Where an enforcement authority is satisfied on the balance of probabilities that a person has breached a duty or prohibition imposed by Chapter 5, the authority may impose a financial penalty on the person in respect of each breach.  HMG does not hold information on the number of penalties issued under the secondary ticketing provisions of the CRA.

Insolvency

Lord Harrison: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what work they are doing to promote the UK's insolvency regime to the European Commission as it develops its plans for an insolvency directive.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: My officials have regular discussions with Commission officials on this matter. Insolvency experts have also had such discussions to ensure they are aware of the features and strengths of our insolvency regime. The Commission has announced its intention to publish a legislative initiative on corporate insolvency in late 2016. This is to be preceded by a consultation to be published this spring. The Government will be responding to the consultation.

Insolvency

Lord Harrison: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the World Bank's methodology for producing its Resolving Insolvency rankings.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: It is not simple to compare different insolvency regimes. The World Bank methodology for ‘Resolving Insolvency’ uses principally an assessment of speed and amount of returns to creditors but also has introduced more subjective tests of the strength of the framework. In the World Bank’s 2016 Doing Business Report, the UK continues to be 7th in the world for returns to creditors, and is quicker and costs less than the US, Germany and France, but does somewhat less well on the subjective factors, which may understate the strengths of our regime. We keep the UK’s insolvency regime under review to ensure it remains at the forefront of best practice and that possible new features are properly considered.

Insolvency

Lord Harrison: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the main criteria for judging whether an insolvency regime is successful.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: It is not simple to compare different insolvency regimes. The World Bank methodology for ‘Resolving Insolvency’ uses principally an assessment of speed and amount of returns to creditors but also has introduced more subjective tests of the strength of the framework. In the World Bank’s 2016 Doing Business Report, the UK continues to be 7th in the world for returns to creditors, and is quicker and costs less than the US, Germany and France, but does somewhat less well on the subjective factors, which may understate the strengths of our regime. We keep the UK’s insolvency regime under review to ensure it remains at the forefront of best practice and that possible new features are properly considered.

Insolvency

Lord Harrison: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of which of the provisions of the European Commission's 2014 Recommendation on a new approach to business failure and insolvency would (1) benefit, and (2) harm, the UK's insolvency regime if introduced.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The UK’s flexible and effective restructuring and insolvency regime is very much in keeping with the general themes of the EU Recommendation. Following the European Commission’s 2014 Recommendation, the Government conducted a call for evidence seeking the views of stakeholders and submitted a response to the Commission’s survey on how Member States comply with the Recommendation. The Government published the UK’s response in August 2015. This can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/european-commission-recommendation-on-business-failure-and-insolvency-call-for-evidence 



Gov response to Commision on Insolvency
(PDF Document, 390.4 KB)

Retail Trade: Employment

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of why the UK retail sector is predicted by the British Retail Consortium to lose up to 900,000 jobs in the next decade.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Government recognises the great contribution the retail industry makes to the economy, to employment and to communities. We are in regular touch with the British Retail Consortium and major retailers on a wide range of policy issues, including those raised in the report. The report shows that the retail sector is going through a period of major adjustment as it is responds to developments such as changing demography and consumer preferences, and automation and digital technology. Government has supported business, including retailers by taking action to help employers and workers to improve productivity, including raising the Annual Investment Allowance to £200,000 to its highest ever permanent level, reducing national insurance contributions for small firms, going further by cutting corporation tax to 18% in 2020 for all companies, and significantly increasing investment in apprenticeships. At the same time, the government is making sure workers in Britain get a pay rise by introducing the National Living Wage from April this year. Now is the right time to do this as we are seeing record employment rates and more than 2 million jobs created since 2010. And taking into account the National Living Wage the independent Office of Budget Responsibility expects employment to rise by a further 1.1 million by 2020.

Department for International Development

Syria: International Assistance

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the Supporting Syria and the Region Conference, how much of the $5.8 billion pledged for 2016 has been received, and when they expect all pledges to be received.

Baroness Verma: On 4 February, the Prime Minister co-hosted the “Supporting Syria & the Region London 2016”, which brought together over 60 countries, international organisations, business, civil society, Syrians and people affected by the conflict to agree a comprehensive new approach on how we respond to this protracted crisis. Donors announced over $11 billion in funding for the Syria crisis response, of which almost $5.9 billion is for 2016. A further $5.4 billion has been committed for 2017-2020 to enable partners to plan ahead. Never has the international community raised so much for a single humanitarian crisis in a single day. The United Nations will track pledges made towards the 2016 UN-coordinated inter-agency appeals for Syria and the region, and we will work alongside the UN to ensure these pledges are disbursed quickly and maintain the momentum on fundraising over the longer-term. This information is being updated on UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs’ Financial Tracking System.

Refugees: International Assistance

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Verma on 18 February (HL5926), whether they intend to propose a system of sharing of expenditure by EU member states whereby those that accept smaller numbers of refugees for settlement proportionate to their own population size pay a higher fraction of national income towards programmes benefitting refugees both in Europe and outside it.

Baroness Verma: The UK encourages other EU member States to support programmes of assistance to refugees, as demonstrated most recently at the February Conference on Syria and the Region.The UK is at the forefront of the response to the Syria crisis, committing over £2.3 billion. We are prioritising our aid in Syria and neighbouring countries, where the scale of displacement is greatest. The Government has no plans to propose a system as suggested by the noble Lord.

Libya: Refugees

Baroness Suttie: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the number of Libyan refugees currently residing in Tunisia.

Baroness Verma: Since 2014, UNHCR has co-ordinated inter-agency efforts to prepare for a possible influx of refugees and asylum-seekers from Libya, at the request of the Tunisian government and in close cooperation with UN agencies and partners. Its most recent assessment reported that there were 928 people of concern residing in Tunisia, mostly from Syria.

World Humanitarian Summit

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government who will represent them at the forthcoming World Humanitarian Summit in May.

Baroness Verma: Final decisions on who will be in the delegation will be taken nearer the time.

World Humanitarian Summit

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what their priorities are at the forthcoming World Humanitarian Summit in May.

Baroness Verma: The UK has four objectives for the Summit. Most importantly we want to see a renewed commitment to the protection of civilians in conflict, but also more effective financing, a new approach to building resilience to natural hazards before they take place, and a stronger focus on protecting and empowering women and girls. The global community – humanitarian, development and political actors – must come together to address these challenges.

World Humanitarian Summit

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to work with the UK members of parliament who are attending the forthcoming World Humanitarian Summit in May.

Baroness Verma: The UK is committed to making the World Humanitarian Summit a success and recognises that this requires coordination with a large number of interested parties.

Palestinians: EU Aid

Lord Hamilton of Epsom: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they contribute to the EU programme of assistance to the Palestinians; what is the gross annual amount of funding for that programme, and what percentage of that funding the UK’s contribution, if any, represents; and what percentage of that programme’s funding is provided to the Palestinian Education Authority.

Baroness Verma: The EU is a major donor to both the Palestinian Authority and UNRWA, providing over €290 million in 2016 to the Palestinian people, including the refugees who live outside Occupied Palestinian Territories in the camps of Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. The UK contributes to the EU budget as a whole, not individual instruments within it. The UK’s share on EU expenditure in EU instruments is approximately 14.5%. The EU funding to the Palestinian Authority is through the PEGASE mechanism, providing the salaries for vetted civil servants only.

Department for Education

Literacy: Charities

Baroness Rebuck: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which literacy charities they have provided with funding over the last five years, and how much funding they have provided in each case.

Lord Nash: We have undertaken a thorough search of our records in the Department for Education and contacted the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, the Department for International Development, the Department for Business Innovation and Skills, the Department for Health and the Ministry of Justice. The list below sets out the results of this search:The National Literacy Trust - £1,485,145Centre for Literacy in Primary Education - £1,450Book Trust - £34,716,302The Reading Agency - £2,652,880Developments in Literacy Trust UK - £249,995The government is committed to improving literacy. We have introduced a new, more rigorous national curriculum which includes greater focus on reading. The national curriculum for English places a greater focus on reading and requires pupils to study a range of books, poems and plays to develop a life-long love of literature. Through reading and writing pupils will have an opportunity to develop intellectually, spiritually and socially, and develop a life-long love of culture.Between September 2011 and October 2013, the Department for Education provided £23.7 million in match funding to over 14,000 primary schools, enabling them to buy systematic synthetic phonics products and training. In 2012 we introduced a phonics screening check at age 6 so that teachers can intervene early to help children catch up with their reading.In November 2015 we announced the introduction of a year 7 resit test for pupils who did not achieve the expected standard at key stage 2 in reading or maths. Since September 2014 we have required 16-19 year olds not holding good passes in GCSE maths to continue to work towards them. This resulted in 7,500 more students aged 17 and above securing A*-C GCSE Maths last summer.

Schools: Admissions

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the findings of the report An Unholy Mess, published by the Fair Admissions Campaign and the British Humanist Association last year, and specifically, its recommendation that a range of standard templates for school admissions policies be created to ensure that all schools’ policies are fully compliant with the School Admissions Code.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken to enforce better compliance with the School Admissions Code among religiously selective schools in the light of the findings of the report An Unholy Mess, published by the Fair Admissions Campaign and the British Humanist Association last year.

Lord Nash: The Government is giving careful consideration to the report of the Office of the Schools Adjudicator as part of our current review of the School Admissions Code, in addition to other research and publications.We will be conducting a full public consultation in due course and will give careful consideration to all the views expressed in that consultation.

Schools: Admissions

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of objections submitted to the Office of the Schools Adjudicator about the admission arrangements of schools were submitted by (1) groups and organisations, and (2) local parents, in each of the years from 2012 to 2015 inclusive.

Lord Nash: There is currently no requirement for an objector to identify themselves, or whether they belong to, or represent, a campaign group or organisation. Some objectors volunteer this information. However, some wish to remain anonymous and other parent objectors may not reveal whether they submitted the objection on behalf of a campaign group. We have no means of identifying this.

Children: Education

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Nash on 29 January (HL5640), whether they request and collate statistics from each local authority about pupils who are regularly absent from school, or who have been deleted from the admission register in certain circumstances.

Lord Nash: Pupil absence information is collected by the Department at an enrolment level through the School Census.Absence information, including figures relating to those pupils who are persistent absentees, is published three times a year in the following National Statistics releases:Pupil absence in schools in England: autumn termPupil absence in schools in England: autumn and spring termPupil absence in schools in England: full academic yearThe Department does not collect information on pupils who have been deleted from the admission register for specific circumstances.

Faith Schools: Admissions

Lord Warner: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Nash on 15 February (HL5803), what assessment they have made of the criticisms of the admissions practices of a significant number of religiously selective schools in the report by the Fair Admissions Campaign and the British Humanist Association; and what action they are taking to stop any such practices.

Lord Nash: Schools which are found by the Schools Adjudicator to have aspects of their admission arrangements which do not comply with the Schools Admissions Code are required to amend their arrangements to ensure they are compliant.The Department carefully considers the recommendations of the Chief Schools Adjudicator, as well as feedback from parents and other members of the sector. Where we consider changes are necessary to make the admissions system work more effectively for parents, these will be subject to a full public consultation.

GCSE

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the average number of GCSEs grades A to C, including Maths and English, gained by pupils in the English Core Cities in (1) 2012, (2) 2013, (3) 2014, and (4) 2015, and what were the individual figures for Liverpool in each year.

Lord Nash: The information requested is not available in the required format.

Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission

Lord Livermore: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to respond to the recommendations set out in the State of the Nation report by the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission published on 17 December 2015.

Lord Nash: The Government is grateful to the Commission for its wide-ranging and comprehensive report. We are committed to publishing a new Life Chances Strategy, and the Department for Work and Pensions is leading on this. That Strategy will set out a comprehensive plan to fight disadvantage and extend opportunity. It will focus on the root causes and human dimensions of child poverty. Our proposals in the Welfare Reform and Work Bill introduce a new duty for the Government to report annually on children in workless households and children’s educational attainment in England. This is because the evidence shows that educational attainment and worklessness are the most significant factors driving children’s life chances. The Strategy will also include a wider set of measures that look at the root causes of poverty, including family breakdown, problem debt and drug and alcohol dependency. These will drive real action to transform the lives of the most disadvantaged children and families.The Government looks forward to working with the reformed Social Mobility Commission, which will continue to play a very important role in the drive to promote and increase social mobility in the years to come.

Home Education

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many children were educated at home in the UK in the academic year 2014–15.

Lord Nash: The department does not collect data relating to the number of home educated children in England. Home education elsewhere in the United Kingdom is the responsibility of the devolved administrations.It is unacceptable for any child of compulsory school age not to be receiving a suitable education. We recognise parents may choose to home school their children and many do a good job, but that education must be of a suitable quality.We are taking steps to ensure the system is as robust as it can be when it comes to protecting young people, while at the same time safeguarding the rights of parents to determine how and where to educate their children.

Ministry of Justice

Domestic Violence: Legal Aid Scheme

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have, if any, to reform legal aid provision for victims of domestic abuse in the light of the Court of Appeal judgment The Queen (On The Application Of Rights Of Women) v The Lord Chancellor And Secretary Of State For Justice [2016] EWCA Civ 91 on 18 February.

Lord Faulks: We are pleased the court confirmed that the Lord Chancellor did have the power to set domestic violence evidence requirements. We are now carefully considering the judgment as we decide how best to respond to the court’s concerns. We are determined to make sure victims of domestic violence can get legal aid whenever they need it.

The Lord Chairman of Committees

House of Lords: Employment Agencies

Lord Storey: To ask the Chairman of Committees, further to the Written Answer by the Chairman of Committees on 11 February (HL5625), whether agency staff are paid the London Living Wage for the first eight weeks of their employment; and if not, what hourly rate are they paid.

Lord Laming: In accordance with the terms of the House’s London Living Wage accreditation, all agency staff are paid at least the London Living Wage rate from day 1 of week 9 if they are working on parliamentary premises and employed for at least two hours of work in a week, for 8 consecutive weeks in a year.The Administration does not hold information about specific hourly rates paid by agencies in weeks 1-8 as we pay a rate to the agency not the individuals; however, our recruitment framework agreement contractual terms stipulate that our contractors pay a rate that is at least the national minimum wage, and wherever possible we want agency staff to receive a salary commensurate with that which would have been paid to a permanent member of staff.

Ministry of Defence

Unmanned Marine Vehicles

Lord Campbell of Pittenweem: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what priority they attach to acquiring and deploying autonomous underwater vehicles, and for what purposes they plan to use those vessels.

Earl Howe: The Royal Navy (RN) currently deploys unmanned systems to enhance maritime surveillance and improve situational awareness in a number of operational theatres.It is widely recognised that autonomous systems offer a unique opportunity to maintain our operational advantage and the RN will therefore continue to explore how such systems can further augment its capabilities into the future.

Libya: Military Intervention

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 22 February (HL5864), whether the term UK troops includes members of 13 Squadron, based at RAF Waddington, and of 39 Squadron, based at Creech Air Force Base in the US.

Earl Howe: This Government has demonstrated its commitment to the war powers convention by its willingness to hold Parliamentary debates in relation to air strikes in Iraq and Syria in 2013, 2014 and 2015. However, we have no intention of defining the precise circumstances, including the identity of specific military units, capabilities or types of operation, under which we might be obliged to act first and to notify Parliament afterwards, in order to avoid presenting our adversaries with opportunities to exploit that definition against the UK or our interests.

Astute Class Submarines

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 19 January (HL4885), whether the dates given in fact show that the time from laying down to operational handover for HMS Astute was nine years and seven months, and that for HMS Artful it will be 11 years.

Earl Howe: The build time of a submarine is measured between the start of manufacture and operational handover to the Royal Navy. Using this metric, the build time of HMS Astute was 170 months and for Artful was 137 months.Keel laying and commissioning have no bearing on the build programme. These are ceremonial milestones only: commissioning can happen before or after operational handover. Using these milestones, however, the time taken from keel laying to commissioning was nine years and seven months for HMS Astute and 11 years for Artful.

Defence Fire and Rescue Service

Lord Hutton of Furness: To ask Her Majesty’s Government on how many occasions in the last five years Ministry of Defence firefighters attended accidents on public highways involving civilian property.

Earl Howe: Such information has only been centrally recorded since February 2012. The number of occasions on which Defence Firefighters have attended accidents on the public highway since 2012 is as follows: 201220132014201528392822

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Dogs: Smuggling

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what national resources are available to track and apprehend gangs selling illegally imported puppies to buyers across the UK.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: We are aware that some unscrupulous individuals are illegally importing pet animals with the intention of selling them on arrival in the UK. The Government takes the issue seriously and we are committed to working with relevant agencies and other non-government organisations to tackle this illegal trade. National resources engaged in this work include the transport companies (or their agents) who ensure compliance with the pet travel scheme, staff at the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) who monitor and regulate the import of animals, and Local Authorities who enforce legislation where illegally imported pets are discovered. The APHA actively shares intelligence it gathers relating to abuse of the pet travel rules with Local Authorities and other EU Member States. This enables further investigation and follow up action to take place. Defra and the APHA have also provided practical support to multi-agency collaborative enforcement action. For example, in April last year, we assisted with the ageing of young puppies during ‘Operation Bloodhound’, which resulted in several penalty notices and cautions being issued.The illegal trade is ultimately driven by demand for cheap, pedigree puppies. The Government has published guidance to outline steps that prospective pet owners should take to avoid buying an illegally imported pet. The Government is currently consulting on a number of proposals to update the laws on the breeding and selling of dogs. The proposals include requiring anyone who breeds more than two litters of puppies a year to be licensed. An exemption from local authority licencing is proposed where a business is regulated by a body accredited by the UK Accreditation Service to certify, at a minimum, the legally-required welfare licence conditions. The consultation ends on 12 March.Defra recognises the problems that can arise from the on-line advertising of pets for sale. In recent years, the Department has been working closely with and supporting the Pet Advertising Advisory Group (PAAG) – which is a grouping of animal welfare charities, veterinary experts, animal keeping interests and the pet industry. Working with PAAG, we have been able to encourage six of the main on-line pet advertising sites to adopt minimum standards for adverts and to remove those that do not meet the standards. With PAAG’s help and the cooperation of six key on-line sites, over 130,000 inappropriate adverts for animals were removed over a 12-month period in 2014/15. We continue to work with PAAG to encourage more on-line sites to sign up to the minimum standards.

Plants: Diseases

Lord Framlingham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the dangers posed to trees and shrubs by Xylella fastidiosa, and the experiences of France and Italy in tackling that disease, what steps they are taking (1) to prevent it entering this country, and (2) to deal with any incursion should it occur.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: Xylella fastidiosa is a regulated pathogen in the EU under the Plant Health Directive, with strengthened requirements now in place in response to the risk posed by this organism. This includes measures to protect against its introduction from countries outside the EU, as well as requirements to prevent infected material being moved from areas within the EU where it is present. Xylella fastidiosa is currently not present in the UK and we are taking robust action to protect against its introduction, including restricting high-risk imports, inspecting host material from outside the EU and raising awareness, through publicity and direct interaction with growers and trade associations. Our aim is to prevent further introductions into the EU as a whole (thereby protecting the UK) and to prevent spread from areas of the EU where it is present. This includes engaging actively with our EU partners and the European Commission on ensuring we have the best possible protective measures in place. Imports of host plants from outside the EU can now only take place where the pest status of the country or origin has been confirmed and when stringent import conditions have been met. All such imports are inspected at points of entry. Plant species which have been confirmed as a host in the EU must now be accompanied by a Plant Passport, meaning they can only be moved into and within the UK by officially authorised businesses. Additional requirements apply to areas where the pathogen is present to prevent the movement of potentially infected plants from such areas. Through our delivery bodies we are applying the EU-wide provisions as well as carrying out surveillance visits of premises growing and trading host plants. In the event of an incursion, a full investigation would take place to determine the circumstances and the actions required. Should an outbreak occur, the requirements of the EU Decision would apply, including destruction of infected and potentially infected plants and demarcation of the outbreak area with restrictions imposed in line with the Decision. We are working closely with industry bodies to raise awareness and encourage good practice.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Community Engagement Forum

Baroness Uddin: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 28 January (HL5141), who the "sixteen influential Muslim Women" were who met the Prime Minister on 14 January at a Community Engagement Forum.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Those who attended were: Sajda Mughal OBE, Managing Director at JAN TrustSyima Aslam, Organiser of Bradford Literary FestivalSara Khan, Director and co-founder of InspireDiana Nammi, Executive Director of Iranian and Kurdish Women's Rights OrganisationAysha and Kiran Iqbal Patel, Directors of OdaraFahma Mohamed, FGM activist and Trustee of Integrate BristolFaeeza Vaid, Chair of ‘Sister 2 Sister’ in Birmingham and Executive Director of the Muslim Women’s NetworkHenna Rai, Director for the Association of British MuslimsYasmin Khan, Director of Staying Put and Aspire-IHasina Khan, Chair and founder of Saheliyaan Asian Women’s Forum and Councillor on Chorley CouncilNahid Rasool, Director of Shantona Women’s CentreFarmida Bi, Head of Islamic Finance and a partner at Norton Rose.Zahra Al-Alawi, Presenter of Woman’s View on Ahlulbayt TVFarah Mirza, TV Presenter and previous UN representative for Islamic Human Rights CommissionSarah Joseph OBE, Chief Executive and Editor of emel magazine

Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group

Baroness Uddin: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 28 January (HL5141), whether they will name the four members of the Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group referred to in that answer.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The four members of the Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group referred to are Akeela Ahmed, Shermeen Butt, Sarah Joseph and Julie Saddiqi.

Cabinet Office

Charities: Lobbying

Baroness Barker: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which lobbying campaigns organised by charities have been funded by government grants since May 2010.

Lord Bridges of Headley: Information on lobbying campaigns organised by charities is not collected by government.

By-elections

Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to extend the current 12-month period for taking action following an allegation of overspending by a political-party on a by-election.

Lord Bridges of Headley: The time period for starting proceedings is set in the Representation of the People Act 1983. The Government has no plans to amend this period.

Electoral Register

Lord Ouseley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the implications for participation in the democratic processes as a consequence of reports that 8000,000 names have dropped off the electoral roll following the introduction of Individual Electoral Registration.

Lord Bridges of Headley: The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has now published the statistics for the December 2015 electoral registers. The full report can be found here: http://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/elections/electoralregistration/bulletins/electoralstatisticsforuk/2015The number of entries on a register is not a measure of success - entries need to be up-to-date and accurate. That is why completing the transition to Individual Electoral Registration was so important; it meant we could remove out of date or inaccurate entries from the register and retain those that had already been confirmed as genuine. Any eligible elector missing from the register can apply to register to vote at any time and with online registration it is now easier and more convenient than ever before.



Attachment
(PDF Document, 247.21 KB)

UK Membership of EU: Referendums

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Cabinet Secretary has given direction to the civil service on their involvement in the political debate over the referendum to leave or remain in the EU.

Lord Bridges of Headley: The Cabinet Secretary has provided guidance for the Civil Service on conduct between now and the start of the 28 day pre - referendum periodThis letter has been published and is available in the Libraries of both Houses. It is also available on Gov.uk.

Charities: Political Activities

Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many charities in receipt of government grant funding were found to be in breach of provisions preventing use of taxpayers' money for political activity in each of the past three years.

Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many charities in receipt of government grant funding were found to have engaged in activity intended to influence or attempt to influence Parliament, government, or the European Commission, or attempt to influence legislative or regulatory action, in each of the past three years.

Lord Bridges of Headley: This information is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Third Sector

Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment has been made of the coalition document The Compact, and whether there are any plans to review or revise this.

Lord Bridges of Headley: The Compact continues to be an important guide for effective engagement and collaboration between public bodies and voluntary, charitable and social enterprise sector organisations. An announcement on the next steps will be made in due course.

Childbirth

Lord Moonie: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many live births there were in 2015 at 23 and 24 weeks gestation.

Lord Bridges of Headley: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



Referral Letter
(PDF Document, 112.6 KB)

Department of Health

Human Embryo Experiments

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Prior of Brampton on 11 February (HL5909, HL5910 and HL5960) and 12 February (HL5909), what specific licence conditions have been required by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) in accordance with its Code of Practice in order to resolve any potential or perceived conflict between the demand for sufficient numbers of zygotes to perform genome editing successfully and the usual practice of transferring embryos to the uterus following assessment of their potential to develop further after at least two to three days; what reasons the person responsible provided when requesting that reference to surplus embryos should be removed from the research project title; and whether they will now place in the Library of the House copies of the patient information and consent forms submitted to the HFEA by the person responsible in order to perform genome editing in human embryos by means of CRISPR-Cas9.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) publishes on its website the inspection report relating to a licence renewal application and the minutes of the Licence Committee’s decision. It does not publish other information associated with a licence application. The Licence Committee considering the application to which the noble Lord refers was satisfied that the requirements of General Directions 0008 were met, with the exception of evidence of ethics approval, which must be submitted to the HFEA before any licensed research can begin.  The HFEA has advised that licence conditions R18-R27 and T97 address any potential conflict between the use of embryos in research and the use of embryos in the provision of treatment services. The person responsible did not give a reason on the application form for requesting that reference to surplus embryos should be removed from the research project title, nor are they required to do so. The removal of ‘surplus’ from the title does not reflect a change in the way embryos will be donated to the research.

Mental Illness: Prescription Drugs

The Earl of Sandwich: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the cost to the NHS of prescribed drugs for the treatment of mental health during each of the last five years; and what assessment they have made of whether those drugs are being over-prescribed.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Information about the cost of prescribed drugs for the treatment of mental health during the last five years is given in the following table. No assessment has been made of whether the drugs are being over-prescribed. National Health Service cost (£) of drugs used to treat mental health in primary care and secondary care in England, 2010/11 to 2014/15  2010/112011/122012/132013/142014/15Primary care£875,627£895,885£705,325£755,679£683,102Secondary care£93,717£95,311£88,981£91,170£95,565Total£969,344£991,196£794,306£846,849£778,667 Information on why a drug has been prescribed is not available. Many of the drugs can be prescribed to treat a number of conditions. Therefore, it is possible that other medicines, not included in this response, have been prescribed for mental health. Also, the medicines included may have been prescribed to treat other conditions. Notes: Medicines from the following British National Formulary sections have been included to cover ‘the treatment of mental health’: 4.1 - hypnotics and anxiolytics4.2 - drugs used in psychoses4.3 - antidepressant drugs4.4 - drugs for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder4.5 - drugs used in substance dependence4.6 - drugs for dementia Cost information provided is the total Net Ingredient Cost and is the basic cost of the drug, which does not take account of discounts, dispensing costs, fees or prescription charges income. Primary care data has been taken from the Prescription Cost Analysis.

Social Services: Expenditure

Lord Warner: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 20 January (HL5278), what are the equivalent figures for public spending on adult social care; and why percentages have declined since 2009/10.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is usually reported on a United Kingdom basis. The Department is responsible for reporting on adult social care spend in England and is not in a position to provide equivalent spend figures for adult social care by the devolved administrations. Spend on adult social care in England, including National Health Service transfers, as a percentage of UK GDP is set out in the table below.   Adult Social Care (ASC) £bnUK GDP £bnPercentage of GDP Spent on ASC2009-1015.71503.61.052010-1116.11574.91.022011-1215.61629.10.952012-1315.41678.90.912013-1415.51756.20.882014-1515.51830.40.85Table notes:Spend information for 2009-10 onwards is based upon Department for Communities and Local Government outturn data.2014-15 figures are from Health & Social Care Information Centre Adult Social Care Finance Return data. This data collection is new for 2014-15 and is not comparable to historical spend figures.GDP figures sourced from HM Treasury 23 December 2015 Ultimately it is a local decision on how much to spend on adult social care. In order to get the deficit under control, local government has had to find its share of the savings. Councils have risen to the challenge of achieving savings whilst setting balanced budgets, keeping council tax low and maintaining satisfaction in services. Many grant ring fences have been removed over the last five years, giving councils more flexibility to meet local priorities as they see fit.

Health Services: Expenditure

Lord Warner: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 20 January (HL5278), how the percentage of GDP spent on health compares with that of the EU average and for Germany and France during the last five years.

Lord Prior of Brampton: As European Union countries are characterised by different health systems with varying degrees of private and third sector involvement, a meaningful and fair cross-country comparison needs to consider overall health expenditure (ie. including both public and non-public expenditure). The table below combines Eurostat and OECD data on current overall health expenditure as a share of Gross Domestic Product from 2009 to 2013 (i.e. five years from the latest data available for most countries). Figures are the United Kingdom rather than England. Current expenditure on healthcare (all functions) as a share of GDP (all financing agents, all health care providers) 20092010201120122013France (OECD)10.9%10.8%10.7%10.8%10.9%Germany (OECD)11.1%11.0%10.7%10.8%11.0%United Kingdom (OECD)8.8%8.6%8.5%8.5%8.5%EU28 avg (OECD and Eurostat)18.5%8.4%8.3%8.3%8.4%EU15 avg (OECD)29.6%9.4%9.4%9.5%9.5%  1Data unavailable for Malta. Croatia included only in 2013 (when it joined the EU). 2013 data from Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Ireland and Luxembourg, 2012 data from Bulgaria, and Latvia and 2011 data from Latvia estimated through a last observation carried forward (LOCF) imputation method.22013 data from Ireland and Luxembourg estimated through a last observation carried forward (LOCF) imputation method.

Health Services and Social Services

Lord Warner: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they intend to take to increase the percentage of GDP being spent on NHS and social care services.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Spending Review settlement, delivered by the Chancellor on 25 November 2015, set the Department’s overall budget for the remaining years of the Parliament and the level of funding that will be available to the National Health Service. It set absolute spending totals, not spending as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product, providing certainty for financial planning over the period. As a result of the Spending Review, NHS funding will be £10 billion higher in real terms by 2020-21 than 2014-15. And the NHS will not have to wait until the end of the Parliament for much of this investment. We will be giving the NHS £3.8 billion more next year, over and above inflation, and almost £6 billion of the £10 billion in the first two years of the six year period. This shows that the Government has listened and responded to what the NHS has said about the profile of investment it needs to deliver the NHS’s own plan, the Five Year Forward View. In regards to social care, the Spending Review has shown our continued commitment to joining up health and care by confirming ongoing commitment to the Better Care Fund – making available further social care funds for local government from 2017, rising to £1.5 billion by 2019-20, which will be included in the Better Care Fund. As well as this, we are giving local government further access to the funding it needs by introducing a social care precept which could raise up to £2 billion by the end of the Parliament.

Screening: Prisoners

Lord Dholakia: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 9 February (HL5469), of those tested, how many were subsequently diagnosed with (1) hepatitis B, (2) hepatitis C, and (3) HIV, over the same time period.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Public Health England (PHE) collects data on people in prison tested for blood-borne viruses (BBVs) via the Sentinel Surveillance Study. This system does not currently receive reports from all prisons in England where testing occurs currently 28 prisons report data. Table 1 below shows data from this system on the total number of prisoners tested positive for BBVs in the calendar years 2012-2014. Similar information from this study for the year 2015 will not be available until mid-2016. NHS England also collects data on levels of testing for BBVs in prisons via the Health & Justice Indicators of Performance. The numbers of positive tests for BBVs in these data are presented in Table 2 using currently available data. The higher number is due to the greater coverage of prisons by this dataset. Table 1: Reported levels of positive tests for BBVs for people in prisons for calendar years 2012-14201220132014hepatitis B605149hepatitis C456400327HIV161916Source: PHE Sentinel Surveillance StudyTable 2: Reported levels of positive tests for BBVs for people in prisons from April 2015 to December 2015April 2015 – December 2015hepatitis B743hepatitis C2164HIV1777Source: NHS England

Hepatitis: Prisoners

Lord Dholakia: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many individuals within the total prison estate have commenced treatment for hepatitis C in 2015–16 to date, broken down by Operational Delivery Network area; and of those, how many commenced treatment while in prison but were released from prison before completion of treatment.

Lord Prior of Brampton: People diagnosed with hepatitis C infection in prison may be treated in prison (through an ‘in-reach’ care programme) or as outpatients via specialist services in National Health Service acute trusts or via a ‘mixed model’. Data on patients treated while in prison or whose treatment is continued following release are held by specialist service providers locally within Operational Delivery Networks and are not currently available centrally.

NHS: Finance

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the anonymous evidence given to the Public Accounts Committee to the effect that national regulators are "pressuring NHS providers to potentially mislead the public and Government departments over their true, underlying financial performance".

Lord Prior of Brampton: From 1 April this year NHS Improvement will be the operational name for the national regulator for National Health Service providers, replacing Monitor and the NHS Trust Development Authority. NHS Improvement have asked finance directors to review the accuracy of accounting entries and scrutinise estimates as far as possible to ensure they are a true and accurate reflection of the financial position of each trust. All financial statements for individual providers will be prepared in line with international Financial Reporting Standards and Government budgeting rules and are subject to independent, external audit. The Department is therefore satisfied that the current NHS Improvement approach is entirely appropriate and would be so in any financial year. NHS Improvement representatives have committed to address this point with the Public Accounts Committee at the earliest opportunity and have written directly to the chair.

Prescription Drugs

The Earl of Sandwich: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of (1) the British Medical Association's report Prescribed drugs associated with dependence and withdrawal: building a consensus for action published in October 2015 on the effects of sudden withdrawal from prescribed drugs that have been over-prescribed; and (2) the need for more training on those effects; and whether they have plans to take any action as a result of that report.

Lord Prior of Brampton: We welcome the British Medical Association's report and its contribution to addressing this serious issue. It is the responsibility of local areas to plan, develop and improve health services according to the healthcare needs of the local population, including services for people dependent on prescription or over-the-counter medicines. The Department, Public Health England (PHE) and NHS England (NHSE) are responsible for helping local areas to understand how they can best support people dependent on prescribed or over-the-counter medicines and have undertaken a number of initiatives. These include: - supporting a project by St George’s University of London to strengthen the training of medical students in relation to substance misuse;- supporting the Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education, Royal College of General Practitioners and others to develop information and educational materials, and training on addiction to medicines for General Practitioners and other healthcare professionals;- the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency publishing a learning module on benzodiazepines in April 2013;- PHE supported an expert group led by the Faculty of Pain Medicine at the Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCOA) to develop an online only core resource on opioid pain medicines that can be used as a source of consistent information by any medical body developing its own materials, and are working with RCOA colleagues to support the widespread dissemination and implementation of this online only resource;- in June 2013, PHE published a commissioning guide for the NHS and local authorities, ‘Commissioning treatment for dependence on prescription and over-the-counter medicines: a guide for NHS and local authority commissioners’, which sets out their expectation that support should be available in every area for people with a dependency on prescription or over-the-counter medicines, based on a full assessment of local need. A copy of this guidance is attached;- PHE supporting a small number of local areas to pilot improvements in their commissioning of responses to dependence on prescribed or over-the-counter medicines; and- Commissioning research into prescribing patterns of dependence forming medicines in primary care.  



Commissioning Treatment Guidance
(PDF Document, 756.39 KB)